The Storm
by The-Belladonna-Rose
Summary: It's raining and Elspeth takes shelter in the barn. Rushton joins her and Sharna ends up quite puzzled. As if it took longer for things to happen in the first book. Better than it sounds.


_**So I'm reading the Obernewtyn Chronicles again because I'm meeting Isobelle Carmody (again) later this year. The great storm of Perth 2010 hit us on Monday and I have always been fascinated by the rain. So I combined the two and this just came to me. It's as if Elspeth and Rushton had more time to get to know each other before everything was set in motion. I hope you like it; I ignored ionic bonding to bring it to you. I do not on these characters or this world. They belong to the ever so cool woman from Prague, Isobelle.**_

Elspeth watched the torrential rain from the barn.  
"Tis heavy today." Sharna observed from his corner.  
"Yes it is." Elspeth did like the dog that had became her friend of the past year, but sometimes he did say some very obvious things. She saw a figure dashing through the downpour. "A late comer from the orchards."  
"Silly funaga. He will catch cold."  
"Indeed. Here! This way!" She cried out. She would not enjoy the company of another but she couldn't let him be soaked finding other shelter. As soon as he was close enough to recognise, Elspeth wished she had let him soak. Rushton shook his head, getting the water out of his hair.  
"I was looking for you. Matthew said you might be here." Of course he had, Elspeth had told him where she was.  
"Why were you looking for me?" he never usually bothered to locate her during a storm.  
"Well I had to make sure you were safe. You were the only one missing and trees are starting to come down in the orchard." He looked at Elspeth with worried green eyes. "You are alright aren't you?" Elspeth felt the butterflies in her stomach go crazy at his look.  
"Yes. I was here when the rain started." Lightning flashed, casting strange shadows on Rushton's face. "The storm's getting worse." She said, looking out at the rain.  
"It'll pass over soon enough." They stood in silence for a moment. "All the kids from the house will be spending the night in the animal nursery. But it's too risky for us to go there. It's on the other side of the farm." He turned and settled into a pile of hay. Elspeth sat warily some distance from him. "Do you really hate me so much?"  
"Yes." But from her mind and...Other places came a resounding 'NO!' Rushton's face twitched and he rolled onto his side, his back facing her.

She could tell he didn't sleep. The horses nickered in their stalls and Sharna chased dream rabbits but Rushton was as still as marble. Elspeth sighed and he rolled onto his back, those green eyes seeking her out in the dark. She looked away and watched as the rain grew steadily worse. She shivered, the wind from the open doors wrapping swiftly around her slight frame. Rushton got up, lighting one of the lanterns and hanging it in the middle of the barn before closing the wide doors. He turned to look at Elspeth and her...heart fluttered, his gaze making her feel naked. The overseer sat back down on his pile of hay and the atmosphere was decidedly cosier. Elspeth still shivered, for the barn was a drafty place.  
"Are you cold?" Rushton's voice was soft as he looked at her. She nodded. He walked into an empty stall and came back with two horse blankets. He spread one on the hay and lay back, gesturing her closer. She looked cynically at his wet shirt and he chuckled, pulling the garment off over his head. Elspeth's eyes widened, deliberating. She was very cold ... and he did look so inviting. She crawled over and settled beside him. He wrapped the second blanket around them both. Elspeth lay awkwardly, her arms by her side though her fingers twitched and longed to roam, to explore. She felt Rushton twitch next to her. Sharna snorted and mumbled sleepily;  
"He wants to mate with you, I think."  
"Shut up." Elspeth sent to him but he was already asleep.  
"Are you warmer now?" Rushton looked down at her.  
"Yes." Though her skin was still a little chilled, her insides were invariably warmer.  
"Good."Rushton shifted, moving his hips away from her, for which her skin was grateful because his trews were still wet but her body yearned to be closer to him. She rolled so that she was facing away from him. She heard him groan softly and she fell asleep listening to his steady breath.

She dreamt vividly but it was not terrifying, it was thrilling. In her dream she did not hate Rushton, not even outwardly, and he did not hate her...he wanted her. He ran his warm, large hands over her body, whispering gently to her. They were naked, he kissed gently down her stomach and as soon as his lips touched down there she awoke with a light start. There was a light moan and she felt a warm hand rubbing her arm. She stilled and the arm belonging to the hand wrapped itself around her waist. She could feel Rushton's breath on her neck, deep and steady and asleep. Elspeth squirmed; he was making her feel unbearably warm inside, like her heartbeat was echoing throughout her body. His arm tightened around her waist, stopping her squirming. She turned to face him and looked into his peaceful face. He was very attractive in the 'I spend my time outside delivering lambs' way. She placed a gentle kiss on the tip of his nose.  
"I don't hate you." She whispered. His eyes flicked open and she gasped, jumping back. "I thought you were asleep." She hissed, not wanting to wake the animals. Rushton pulled her back to him and kissed her forehead.  
"I don't hate you either." He whispered before pressing his lips to hers. She lay startled for a moment before he wound his fingers into her hair. Her mind was a blank but her body knew what it wanted...and how to get it. Her arms wrapped around his neck and she pressed her body flush with his. She knew now why he had kept his hips away from her. She did no know much about male anatomy but she had heard the thoughts of the orphans and misfits enough to know what was pressing against her stomach. Rushton's hands ran down her back, crushing her to him and she let out a soft wound; a sound she had never before uttered. She pulled one hand down and dragged her fingers lightly over his chest. He shuddered, delighting in her warm, soft touch. She pulled back from his kiss, gasping for air. Rushton smiled down at her and she blushed.  
"You know if someone informs on us we'll be separated right?" she asked, eyes wide. "I don't even know if I can trust you."  
"Then we won't let anyone find out enough to inform." He kissed her soundly. "And you can trust me." Elspeth raised her eyebrow and he laughed. "Maybe not." And he began to tickle her.  
"Stop it!" she laughed, "That's not fair." She tried to squirm away from him but he followed her, both of them rolling to try and get advantage over the other. Sharna woke fully and watched, amused, as they acted like pups. Finally Elspeth flopped back in the hay, Rushton landing lightly on top of her, propped up on his arms. Elspeth looked up at him and then slid her gaze over his shoulders and down his arms before skimming up his muscular stomach and chest to his eyes again. In his eyes was a look of sheer admiration, mingled with laughter and lust. He lowered himself to her and kissed her, his passion warming her down to her toes. She wrapped her arms around his waist, quickly sliding them up his smooth back so that she was gripping his broad shoulders. He moaned into her mouth and she sighed. She let her tongue slip past her teeth and lap gently at his lips. He opened his mouth against hers and their tongues met. It was such an alien feeling, tasting someone, their mouth on yours. Elspeth moaned and let her body relax. Rushton pressed himself closer to her and she tangled her legs with his. He groaned. Every touch was like fire through their veins and the horses were starting to wake at the sound of Elspeth's mental ecstasy. Rushton pulled back, gasping. Elspeth raised an eyebrow and he almost collapsed with the force of his attraction. "What's wrong?" she murmured, not wanting to ruin the mood.  
"Nothing." Rushton smiled. "I just want to make sure you're okay with this. I mean it's hardly romantic." Elspeth smirked. "And to ask you if I could take off your blouse." She nodded and he swiftly divested her of the garment. He moaned at the sight of her small, bare breasts and dove back into their kiss. His hand on her chest was warm and gentle, making her gasp and moan. The horse's ears pricked up. Elspeth reached for the ties of Rushton's trews and slid them down his legs. She gasped.  
"You're not wearing any unders." Rushton laughed and ground against her. She giggled and thrust back gently, causing electricity to run through their bodies.  
"You are so beautiful." He whispered in her eye. She sighed. Rushton reached down and undid her skirt, pulling it down with her soft, loose underdraws. His hands were warm, tender and thrilling, sending heat and fire deep into her body. Her cries made the horses look at her in curiosity, wondering if she was quite well. She relaxed, breathing deeply as Rushton grinned at her. She smirked up at him and skimmed her hands down to his buttocks. She tightened her thigh's grip on him and pulled his hips towards hers.

It burned, it stung and it brought tears to the young misfit's eyes.  
"It hurts Rushton!"  
"I know just-" Elspeth's body was thrashing around beneath him.  
"It burns!" Rushton grabbed her wrists and held her still. "This is the only time it will hurt. I promise you, I will never again hurt your mind, your heart or your body." His green eyes held her, warmed her and made her feel safe. "Just tonight..." he shifted and Elspeth felt the pain recede. "Be wounded by me." He ended the statement with a sigh. Elspeth's body sung. She looked into Rushton's eyes and knew she would trust him with her body and her expansive mind. Her heart she was not so sure about. The electricity in the air was palpable as the tides; rise and sink, push and pull. Elspeth's eyes were still filled with tears but they were not of pain. Rushton could feel every movement of her body, of the air around them. It was glorious. He opened his mind to her, knowing she could feel it, and willed her to feel amazing, as he did. She could feel his mind reaching out to hers, his power like a babe, arms weakly stretching and grasping. She opened herself to him, astonished that such an intimate act as this could become more so within their minds. She drifted and swirled in his passion, he became lost in her ecstasy. Every thought they had ever had about the other poured through their minds, reassuring, offending, apologising. Cool sweat began to run down Rushton's back, though the barn was still cold. His body heated Elspeth's, shocked her. He pressed his lips to her collarbone, tasting her sweet skin. Elspeth surged and quaked, her mind pulsing with desire around his. He opened further, pouring more of himself into her. She gasped softly. No-one had ever been that deep inside her mind. It was exquisite. Her mind swirled about her, no longer able to hold cohesive thought. Everything turned gold, she shivered and quaked and arched and all through it she could feel Rushton's mind fuelling her ecstasy and see his green eyes staring deep into her own. His mind then began to quake and she stroked it with hers, wrapping herself around him, squeezing, begging him to feel as good as she had. For a moment it seemed as if his mind had stopped and Elspeth felt his body pulse within hers, filling her up with warmth and life. Then his mind started once more and he collapsed with a moan. Elspeth found she could quite easily hold his weight and she carefully kept their minds and bodies entwined. Their minds open to each other, their bodies still within each other; they dozed and dreamt of rainy days.  
"Funaga are such odd creatures." Sharna remarked to the horses.

_**Good, Bad, Ugly? Review and tell me.**_


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